Shamisa Anthony was working retail at the former Lord & Taylor Department Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, until one day she overheard a manager and human resources director talking proudly about their Berkeley College experiences.

Last year, after Oslene Johnson attended the “Speak Up and Speak Out: Women in Media: The Courage to Own Your Story” event at Berkeley College in New York City, she couldn’t wait to get back to her campus in White Plains to start making a greater impact on her community.

For some students, family can serve as a great motivator when working toward attaining a degree. For El Mehdi Bendriss, his mother’s enrollment was his motivation to pursue a degree in Legal Studies. Today, the honors student is incredibly devoted to his studies and has been featured on the President’s list for the past two semesters along with his mother, Amal Bendriss.

Samantha Chase is already a working professional, but that hasn’t stopped her from focusing on her future career. At age 27, she pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies at the Berkeley College School of Professional Studies, and will apply to law schools later this year, with plans to make an impact in the environmental arena.